Questionable Paypal fees

[Ezekiel_Rage-migration]

I purchased a low grade copy of ASM 56 last night on EBAY and this morning I received the following invoice from the seller.

 

Your total is as follows:

$17.45 SPIDER-MAN #56

$ 4.00 Postage, packaging & handling

=====

$21.45 Total

 

If you opt to pay via PayPal, I request that you add 5% to cover the payment fee that PayPal charges me, ie. $1.07, making a total of $22.52 with PayPal.

 

 

As I understand, the handling fees that Paypal charges the seller are only for credit card purchases. Is this correct? If I paid with Paypal funds or a bank account these fees would not apply, correct?

 

Granted it's a small amount that I will most likely pay, however I must say that I find this tactic a little shady. I have been on Ebay for almost three years, and the majority of purchases I have made have been with Paypal and I have never had a seller ask for an additional 5% to cover paypal fees. Is this a fairly common tactic? Has anyone else run into sellers such as this?

 

thanks,

-ez

 

[Dave_Hennen]

Nope, if you have anything better than a personal account they sock it to you with incoming transaction fees. An example from over the weekend, it cost me 49 cents to accept a $6.50 payment, where 2.50 of that was going to postage. So paypal scooped a little over 10% of the item's sale price. Sigh

 

Whether or not your seller should be passing that cost on to you or absorbing it as a business expense is a different matter...

 

hth,

Dave H

[doyle033]

i think if a seller accepts paypal from CC purchases, then they have to pay the fee on all money they recieve no matter where it comes from. one of the joys of being able to take CCards thru paypal. but unless this was clearly stated in the auction you should not have to pay it at all. i dont like little add on fees that were not disclosed in the auction to begin with. either the seller should have

a) disclosed the fee in the auction listing

b) upped the minimum bid to cover this fee

c) not accept pay pal

all of these ways would be a valid alternative to hitting you up for a fee which by right is the sellers responsibility and should not be passed directly on to the buyer. especially if it was not disclosed. i would email back and relate that this wasnt in the item listing and that you would rather not pay it and see if you can get around it. whats next... you should have to pay extra for final value fees? time to put a stop to it.

good luck

[mrwoogieman]

ebay specifically prohibits sellers from tacking on an extra sur-charge for Paypal payments. Any seller who tries to do it is in violation of the applicable ebay rules, as well as the terms of their Paypal accounts, and should be reported. These sellers are trying to offer the convenience of instant payments without paying for the service. A simple solution for all the fee avoiding sellers; don't accept Paypal.

[143ksk]

You don't have to pay their "request". Just send them the appropriate $ for the item and postage. If they don't want to pay the Paypal fees they shouldn't use Paypal!

[kryptonitecomics]

I have to agree with the others.......Ebayers know that it is against the rules to tack on extra fees to cover Paypal fees. I wouldn't pay it and I would report the seller to Ebay immediately!!!!

 

I accept paypal and would never consider trying to pass along the fees. I would just accept checks and Money Orders if I didn't agree with the fees

[Mushroom]

ebay specifically prohibits sellers from tacking on an extra sur-charge for Paypal payments. Any seller who tries to do it is in violation of the applicable ebay rules, as well as the terms of their Paypal accounts, and should be reported. These sellers are trying to offer the convenience of instant payments without paying for the service. A simple solution for all the fee avoiding sellers; don't accept Paypal.

 

Agreed. I have just bought some books from Jason Ewart who clearly outlines that he only takes balance transfers from Paypal unless you arrange with him prior to the auction for alterantive methods. In this case I have no problems with covering the charges (mind you I don't really have a problem either way. The convenience of Paypal is worth 5% to me).

[murph0]

I'm surprised more people haven't jumped on Ewert's back about his paypal fees. I just send him a check, but I was sure someone would've caught on to this and started person_without_enough_empathying. Guess noone minds since he's got such nice books.

 

Brian

[BachelorOfComix]

I'm surprised more people haven't jumped on Ewert's back about his paypal fees. I just send him a check, but I was sure someone would've caught on to this and started person_without_enough_empathying. Guess noone minds since he's got such nice books.

 

Brian

It already happened in an old thread a while ago. I think Flying Donut was outspoken against it & you didn't see it as a big problem.

[murph0]

Well we had a whole thread devoted simply to villainizing Comiclink for charging fees. I figured it'd be only a matter of time before Ewert was next..

Guess we can only have witch hunts so often

 

Brian

[BachelorOfComix]

Well we had a whole thread devoted simply to villainizing Comiclink for charging fees. I figured it'd be only a matter of time before Ewert was next..

Guess we can only have witch hunts so often

 

Brian

Yeah, that CL thread was it.

[tilleycs]

I agree, if the seller did not state it in the auction, he has no right to request it after the fact. If he doesn't like PayPal's fees, he should accept PayPal, bottom line. And if it violates ebay's rules, he/she should be reported immediately.

 

Let us know what you decide and how it goes!

[Darthdiesel]

When the news that paypal was going to put restrictions on personal accts came out, I made a comment that more sellers were going to switch to the dark side and pass the paypal fees to the buyers...how soon before we see monre of this type of thread daily where a new seller violating ebay regs will be villified?

[BassGMan]

I have no problem whatsoever with a seller charging PayPal fees, handling fees or excessive shipping fees as long as it is stated clearly in the item description. You don't like the seller's policies or charges, then don't bid. How much simpler can it get than that? And what I find most ridiculous is when a buyer jumps in and bids BEFORE reading the entire ad and then is surprised by these fees. Personally I do not charge any PayPal fees or handling fees or anything like that but if a seller prefers to run his business that way, and discloses it fully in his ad, then more power to him. If a seller charges ridiculous fees then just add that to what you are bidding. Think of the entire amount that you have to pay (bid, shipping, packaging, gas to post office, bubble wrap, energy bar needed to pack up your heavy box, and PayPal fee) and add it all up and if the book is worth the price, then buy, if not, then don't. However, I do not like hidden charges that pop up that were NOT listed in the ad. That is another story. --------Sid

[Mushroom]

Absolutely. So long as there are no surprises you can deal with it all up front.

[Ezekiel_Rage-migration]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Below is an excerpt from the auction description. As you can see, there was no disclosure of the additional fees in the auction. Does anyone have a link handy of the policies that are being violated?

 

I accept PayPal; personal checks with 10 days to clear after deposit; money orders; bank drafts; cashiers checks; and cash at the buyer's risk.

 

 

[FlyingDonut]

I purchased a low grade copy of ASM 56 last night on EBAY and this morning I received the following invoice from the seller.

 

Your total is as follows:

$17.45 SPIDER-MAN #56

$ 4.00 Postage, packaging & handling

=====

$21.45 Total

 

If you opt to pay via PayPal, I request that you add 5% to cover the payment fee that PayPal charges me, ie. $1.07, making a total of $22.52 with PayPal.

 

 

As I understand, the handling fees that Paypal charges the seller are only for credit card purchases. Is this correct? If I paid with Paypal funds or a bank account these fees would not apply, correct?

 

Granted it's a small amount that I will most likely pay, however I must say that I find this tactic a little shady. I have been on Ebay for almost three years, and the majority of purchases I have made have been with Paypal and I have never had a seller ask for an additional 5% to cover paypal fees. Is this a fairly common tactic? Has anyone else run into sellers such as this?

 

thanks,

-ez

 

 

We've been over this a million times. Anybody who does this, anybody, is at the very least breaking eBay's rules, and, in several states, breaking the law.

 

From eBay's official rules on payment surcharges:

 

Sellers may not charge eBay buyers an additional fee for their use of ordinary forms of payment, including acceptance of checks, money orders, electronic transfers or credit cards. Such costs should be built into the price of the item-this policy reduces the potential for confusion among bidders about the true cost of an item. Further, some forms of payment surcharges, such as credit card surcharges, are forbidden under the laws of many states, including California.

 

You simply cannot do it. PERIOD. If you do it, you're breaking the law. END OF DISCUSSION.

 

I would, under no uncertain terms, politely, but firmly, tell your seller to [!@#%^&^] off. Send him the link above.

 

 

[BassGMan]

I understand Donut, although I have to say that I disagree with that law or rule. I think that a seller should be able to charge 3% or whatever the exact amount is that PayPal charges IF the buyer chooses to pay with that option. Or maybe half of it as a compromise (split the fee). If it is breaking the law then we don't have a choice, but personally I don't see anything wrong with that if clearly stated in advance. Of course this is assuming that checks or money orders is also an option. By the way, I do not, and never will charge a PayPal surcharge myself, but I don't blame those that do. ----Sid

[FlyingDonut]

I understand Donut, although I have to say that I disagree with that law or rule. I think that a seller should be able to charge 3% or whatever the exact amount is that PayPal charges IF the buyer chooses to pay with that option. Or maybe half of it as a compromise (split the fee). If it is breaking the law then we don't have a choice, but personally I don't see anything wrong with that if clearly stated in advance. Of course this is assuming that checks or money orders is also an option. By the way, I do not, and never will charge a PayPal surcharge myself, but I don't blame those that do. ----Sid

 

If you are charging a Paypal surcharge, you instantly put 5% more in your pocket (or whatever you charge) and make your BUYER pay for your convenience. Would you be OK with the gas station charging you 5% more for gas if you used a credit card? A restaurant? That's what this seller is doing. It is unethical, illegal, and just plain wrong.

[lighthouse]

You can always just pay him with PayPal, including the surcharge he requests... then wait until you receive the package and request a refund from PayPal...

 

It says right in the Seller Protection page that they will not protect the seller against chargebacks if they add a surcharge to the transaction. They can ship to your verified address, have your signature that you signed for it, and it doesn't matter. If they charged a surcharge, you can get all your money back from PayPal and there is nothing the seller can do...

 

Not that I am actually recommending this....